


Life

by TigerNightCat



Series: Final Fantasy Shifters AU [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff, Master & Pets - Non BDSM, Mentions of Slavery, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Ships if you squint, mentions of abuse, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:15:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22122433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerNightCat/pseuds/TigerNightCat
Summary: Heats are annoying. Once a year for normal Shifters. Once every 5-7 years for Lilly. With all the excitement going on, Lilly forgot her heat is coming up. How will she deal with it in a room full of Strong personalities.
Series: Final Fantasy Shifters AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1277252
Kudos: 3





	1. Lil'Heat - SFW

**Author's Note:**

> I will add the link to the NSFW parts of this arc to the end notes when I finish them. Until then - Enjoy the first part of Lilly et all figuring out her first heat in five years.

“Lilly. Are you alright?” Genesis had come up from behind her and asked quietly.

“Yes. I’m fine. Will you stop asking? The bullet wounds closed days ago.” Lilly snapped at him.

He held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, hey. I am not worried about your wounds. I am asking because you have been on edge more lately and you smell different.”

“I smell? That’s real nice to say to a girl, Gen.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t mean in a bad way. You smell good. Honestly you smell Omega good.”

“O, Omega?” Her eyes got almost comically wide and she started looking around.

“How long have I been here? No. Not just today. Noct? You just turned twenty one right?” She called across the room to the Prince who was paying more attention to the game in front of him than his pet. The human raised his head and acknowledged her with a nod. “Right. Yeah. Yes everything is fine. I have to go.”

Genesis had never seen her bolt from the room faster than she did just then. Something spooked her and he wasn’t sure what. Asking the Prince didn’t give him any answers to that either.

Noctis found her pacing his bedroom a little later that afternoon. He watched her go back and forth a few times before. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

Lilly startled and turned to face him. She hadn’t noticed he had entered the room. “What? Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Lilly. What’s wrong?”

She started fidgeting under his stare, trying to look as small as possible. “I might be….” She trailed off mumbling her answer.

“Lilliana. I won’t ask again. What’s wrong?”

She took a deep breath and with her eyes closed answered louder. “I might be going into heat. It’s been so long I didn’t recognize the signs. I’m sorry.”

He walked up to her and pulled her chin away from her chest. “Heat? Isn’t that only a week, and don’t only Omegas go through that?”

She pulled away from his hand not looking him in the eye. “Yeah. What do you think I am? An Alpha or Omega?” She finally looked up after he didn’t answer her for a second, searching his face.

“You’re strong, in charge, commanding. You take care of me, you’re protective, a defender. I’d say you’re an Alpha. But I take it you have a different answer.”

“I’m a forced social Alpha. These guys chose me to be an Alpha and I can’t really change that without failing in some way or someone stronger comes along. But I’m biologically an Omega. I’m forced to go into this Heat state every six years or so. Normal Omegas get it once a year and it lasts one week tops with a week buildup before and week cooldown after. Mine has a three week build up, two weeks full blown, and a two week cool down after. I get needy and whiney and emotional and I can’t stand it. I'm not me."

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I’ll handle it. Just don’t tell anyone? Please.”

“You sure?” At her nod he sighed. “Alright. I’ll leave it up to you. Just come to me if you need any help.” She smiled weakly at him. It was going to be a long month.

*****

Two weeks later she was passing by one of the least used closets in the suite when something caught her eye. All the things she had stashed there over the last week or so had vanished. Where did it all go? It wasn’t much, just a blanket and a few shirts she had borrowed from Noct and Prom, but it was her stash.

“Hey Ignis?” She asked after she had tracked down the only person who would’ve been in that closet. “Where did all the things inside that back closet go?” She shifted nervously, while waiting for an answer.

“Hmm? It was all out of place and wrinkled so I am washing it all and putting it away.” The man watched her, curious as to why she was acting like it was a big deal. It was just his monthly cleaning of all the closets. Nothing special as far as he was aware.

“You _what_ ?” She practically yelled. She ran out of the room as fast as she could, muttering _no, no, no_ , trying to get to the washing machines. They were running when she got there, in the middle of their wash cycle. She was too late.

Behind her she could hear a conversation drift to her from the other room “Noct. What did I do? Why is Lilly crying in front of the washing machines? I was only doing my usual cleaning.”

The others had all met up in the living room after seeing Lilly sprint by them. Some were more confused than others. Genesis and Destiny were looking thoughtfully after the feline shifter.

“Ignis. Was it a small pile of clothes, blankets and pillows? All in a small corner or a closet?” Genesis asked looking at the human. At Ignis’s nod Genesis made a sound of understanding and Destiny had a slowly growing look of horror on her face. “I think I know why she is so upset. You destroyed her nest.”

Ignis looked completely confused at the shifter. “Nest? It was just a pile of things. It didn’t look like anyone was using it at all.”

"I think she was trying to hide it. She is an Omega, isn't she Noctis?"

The Prince nodded slightly. "She didn't want me to say anything. Is this why she's so upset right now?"

Genesis nodded and handed out each person’s marching orders. “Alright. Damage control time then. Noctis, take Prompto and Mara and a few of your shirts. Go work up a slight sweat. You will want your scent on everything. Don’t ask, I will explain everything later, just go. Justice, go gather all of the loose blankets and pillows you can and bring them here. You will take them to her new nest spot, as soon as she calms down and chooses one. Ignis, go make her favorites as an apology. Do not argue just do it. Destiny, come with me. We are going to try and sooth her.”

Lilly was still staring worriedly at the washing machines, when the two shifters entered into the small room. “Hey Lilly. What’s got you so upset? Did Ignis mess up your nest?” Genesis asked quietly.

She glanced at him in confusion then back down at the machines. “Nest? I don’t have a nest. I don’t know why I’m so upset. Was it a nest?” She trailed off with her last question, asking it more to herself than anyone else.

Destiny approached slowly trying to draw Lilly’s attention from the machine. “Lilly. You’re an Omega, right? Have you never had a nest before?” She asked as gently as possible to the stressed shifter.

Lilly was distracted for a split second and looked into Destiny’s eyes. “Omega? Yes. No, I’ve never had a nest before. It was never safe on the farm or in the wilds.” She looked back at the machine almost glaring at it then back at Destiny. “Is that was this is? Why I’m so out of it right now?”

“Oh sweetie. Yes, that was your first nest and that human just destroyed it without knowing how important it was to you.” Destiny wrapped Lilly up in a tight hug. The poor shifter didn’t know what to do and finally just broke down crying. “It’s OK sweetie. Let it out. We will help you make a new nest and everyone will leave it alone unless you want them to visit."

It took her a short while but Lilly finally calmed down enough to stop crying into Destiny’s shoulder. Genesis took the opportunity to ask her, “Hey Lilly. Do you want a new nest? We have better materials for you. Where do you want to make it?”

Lilly looked over at him and mumbled, “I can’t make one. They’ll use it against me.” She looked so small and lost. She was lost in a memory from her past and he didn’t want her to still be there even if it was only in her head.

“No one will ever touch your nest again. We will make sure of it. Did you want it in Noctis’s room? Prompto’s room? My room?” At the mention of each person’s room he watched for a reaction. She didn’t react to Noctis’s or Prompto’s room, but she gave a tiny nod when he mentioned his own room. He smiled. “Alright. My room it is. Let’s get you in there so you can make it the way you want. Up you go.” He lifted her into his arms and slowly walked out into the other room. She made a massive effort to hide how pleased she was that he could lift her without any effort.

The others had all returned from their tasks while the three shifters were in the laundry room steadying themselves. As soon as Genesis emerged with Lilly in his arms, they were surrounded with questions. Lilly squeaked and hid her face in his shoulder away from everyone. “Hey. Everyone. Back off!” Genesis barked, getting them to take a step back. “Can you not see you are all scaring her?! Give her a bit before you pounce her. It’s ok Lilly. You’ve done nothing wrong.” She had started repeating ‘I’m sorry’ into his shoulder. ”They just want to make sure you are alright. They will mind their manners now. Let us get you to your nesting place.”

He sent all of the others ahead of him to his room to drop off the supplies. When they arrived Justice had already started setting things up based on how an Omega would look at the room. There were piles of blankets and pillows and the shirts of her favorite males were in the room as well.

“Lilly, look. Lots of materials to make a nest out of. You want help getting started?”

Lilly looked around the room in confusion then up at the male holding her. “I’m allowed?” She sounded so unsure he had to hold her tighter.

“Yes, you are allowed and encouraged to do so. Do whatever you want to, dear. The room is yours.” He reluctantly allowed her feet to touch the ground but didn’t let go just yet.

“I’m allowed to? How do I even start? I’ve never...” She trailed off and that’s when Destiny and Justice pushed their way in between her and Genesis.

“That’s where we come in. All males out. Omegas and girls only!” Destiny bodily banished all the others from the room and slammed the door on their protests. She turned towards Lilly and rubbed her hands together. “Now let’s make you the best heat nest you will ever have.”

Despite how evil Destiny looked at the beginning, she was extremely patient with every step Lilly took to make the room perfect. Justice was so encouraging to her as well, taking the time to explain why she felt the way she did and helped get her past her fears of making the nest at all. It took almost thirty minutes before she was even willing to try and start, but they got her past that.

She started slow, answering their yes or no questions about what she liked and disliked. They tossed all the ones she didn’t like out the door, half the time into one of the other men’s faces while they tried to get a peek at the room.

For a bunch of Alphas they didn’t take Omega nesting without them very well. Genesis in particular kept trying to open the door and either Destiny or Justice had to keep shutting it on his nose. After a while Justice gave up and just stood glaring at the door jam for a while waiting for it to open. It did and the Alpha got a face full of angry Omega. He didn’t open it again after that.

Ignis was the only one brave enough to open the door and only because he had food as a peace offering. Destiny answered the door that time and opened it the bare minimum she could. She didn’t let him get a look. She refused to let him enter or speak to Lilly. She just took the food and closed the door again. If she had her way Ignis wouldn’t even be in the building after destroying Lilly’s first nest, even if he didn’t realize what he did.

Lilly felt much more in control after each passing moment in the room. The more her nest came together the calmer she felt. Near the end she felt herself again. A few final touches and the only thing missing was her in it. All her unease had left her and she felt she could face the others again, rationally.

Hours later they emerged from the room looking tired but happy. The guys held off swarming her to ask questions, but only just barely. Genesis had stood up from his spot on the couch but didn’t move closer to her. Justice had made his point earlier.

Lilly stretched big while walking into the room. Mid stretch she waved at the guys. “Hey. You all stuck around! Sorry about that.” She let her arms fall and gave them a big smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t have enough control to not freak out like that. Usually you’d not even know I had started my heat.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” Noct pipped up. “Apparently you didn’t have any chance to not get overwhelmed. Hear me out. Mara and Genesis theorize that with you in close proximity to so many guys, it sent your heat hormones into overdrive. And with the nest accidentally being destroyed, it just set everything off.”

“So it is your fault.” She narrowed her eyes slightly at them but didn’t lose the grin. “Thought so. We all talked about it while I was rearranging the room for the fifteenth time. Oh well. I’ll figure it out. Now that I know what to look for, I don’t think hormones will be an issue anymore. You touch my nest without permission though and you’ll need a good regen spell.” Her grin changed to that of a hunter warding off other hunters. They all put up their hands in surrender. They did not want to deal with an angry Lilly.

She meandered off to the kitchen to scrounge for something to munch on, passing Ignis on the way. He stopped her for half a second to apologise to her which she waved off. It’s not like any of the humans had experienced her pre-heat at all. If she didn’t know it was a nest, then he certainly wouldn’t. She also waved off the glaring shifters behind him. She could fight her own battles now that she was back on her feet.

“Ok. You all have questions. I may have answers. What is on your minds? No holds bar.” She flopped down on the couch after grabbing some finger foods from the fridge.

All the others sat down around her in their various spots. Lilly grabbed Genesis's hand and pulled him down next to her, before he could get further away. She curled up against his side, his arms reflexively wrapping around her, and tucked her legs under herself. "Hmm. You smell good." she said quietly.

The shifter grinned at her. "So I guess the first question is what should we all expect? Noct told us that your heats are longer than normal but couldn't tell us much more."

"Well normal heats last about one week with a week’s warm up and cool down on either side as you know. Or should know if you paid any attention to the info packets the farms hand out regularly. Mine last about seven weeks total. A three week warmup, two weeks for the actual heat, and two weeks for the cool down. Since we are already almost done with my warmup. I'd say about four, four and a half weeks until I'm completely back to my usual self."

"We've never seen you go into heat before. Why not?" It was Noct that asked that one. He had sat down by her feet so she nudged him with one, silently asking for a foot rub.

"Typically they're an annual thing. Once again I'm not normal. Mine are every five to seven years in between each heat cycle. I had just finished mine the year your father found me on the farm and gave me to you. I've been here five years so I'm right on schedule for year six. As I said I can usually hide it when I have it so if the new shifters hadn't been here, you honestly probably wouldn't ever have seen me be anything but slightly more stressed than usual." She poked Genesis's chest in emphasis.

"What do you plan on doing for a partner, or partners?" Mara looked at her thoughtfully. He wasn't evaluating her like some Alphas had in the past, but only because she thought his protective instincts had flared more than possessive ones.

"Usually I would do nothing. I don't have to have partners and usually don't even want them." She could feel a slight droop in demeanor of the Alphas around her at that. Internally she rolled her eyes, _Alphas_. "But I have been told repeatedly today, to allow my Omega to be an Omega for once and do what it wants. I don't know exactly how to do that so it will probably be me making a fool of myself during all this. No promises on anything and I refuse to be forced to do anything at any time.”

Mara’s demeanor changed completely when she said that last sentence. She looked at him as he changed from contemplative to pure Alpha protector. He looked angry that she even suggested it but it wasn’t aimed at her. She reached behind her and threw a pillow at him, knocking him out of his mood by surprise. “Hey. None of that. As I told you all when you first got here. You do anything I don’t like, I remove the offending appendage. I don’t need anyone protecting me.”

He looked at her sharply. “You sure you will be able to? Your reaction earlier today wasn’t exactly controlled.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Try it and see. Only reason I reacted like that was because I had never felt that before. Desire I have. If you want proof, I’ll spend my entire heat in this room, just to prove I can.” She wouldn’t like it, but she would do it just because someone challenged her.

He stared at her a moment longer searching for something. He must’ve found it because he bowed to her slightly then got up and left the room. The humans gave him puzzled glances and Gladio made to follow him. Destiny put an arm and stopped him. “He’s fighting his own emotions right now. Not easy to have an Omega in heat and other Alphas around at the same time. He’ll be alright.”

Prompto raised his hand tentatively "Which of you are Alphas and Omegas? And do we need to separate everyone for the next month?"

Lilly smiled at him. "Justice and I are biologically Omegas, which means we can have kits. Genesis and Mara are biologically Alphas, the sires. I have no clue what Destiny is, but I think she is also not setting off any instinct bells so she's a purebred neutral. Care to comment?" She looked over at the other female shifter and only smiled at her, saying nothing. "Yeah thought so."

"Wait. You can have kids?" Prompto practically yelled at Justice. "I thought that was just a rumor!"

Genesis tightened his arms around Lilly defensively at Prompto's outburst.

From his spot, cross-legged on the floor, Justice ducked his head, turning bright red. "It's not really advertised."

"It is nothing to be embarrassed about. It is a lot harder for male Omega to have children so it is very rare. I have heard that Omega males can only have children with Alphas, though. I have not met an Omega male with children so I am not entirely sure if it's true or not." Genesis wrapped his arms tighter around Lilly. "It's just biology."

"Ok. Enough picking on us. Grill him for male Omega answers later. I wanna watch a movie and snuggle. Where's the blankets and the popcorn? Mr. Tech Master, set up the theater set?" She squirmed in the arms holding her, getting settled further. Prompto laughed and got up to go put together the screen and close the windows to the crystal's light.

*****

The next morning Lilly emerged from her nest in Genesis's room. She had gone to bed alone and woke early, too stressed to sleep late. Genesis was asleep on the couch and Ignis was in the kitchen fussing over breakfast. She walked over and sat down at the island to watch Ignis work.

"Hey Ignis?" She asked tentatively. "Could you help me set up an appointment with the shifter vet-doctor? I'm not on anything and if this heat gets as strong as my first reaction then I'll need to see if there's any birth control I can even be on. I don't want kits yet. I'm not ready for them. Can you help me?"

The human had turned to her when she first started talking and watched her while she finished. She glanced up through her hair, embarrassed that she even had to ask. She couldn't make any appointments with a normal doctor, only a human could. Normally she wouldn't need any appointments, she would only catch the occasional cold, from Ignis ironically.

He looked at her steadily "I can save you some time on that. I looked up your records as soon as I found out it was a heat you were starting and talked to the doctor. They said the blood results from your checkups indicate that no hormones would work as a birth control. They would be willing to try some things, but nothing indicates that it would be effective, especially this close to a full blown heat." She deflated at each revelation, shoulders drooping lower and lower. "I would be willing to get a second opinion for you, but it might take a few days."

She shook her head smiled at him, "No. You've done more than I could've asked for already. Thank you for doing that. I'll figure it out. Maybe they could help me look for next time."

"I'll get them started right away then. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." He slid a pile of pancakes onto a plate in front of her. "Let's start with what we know and go from there. Do you need anything in particular for this?"

She brightened at the pancakes and started to dig in. "Nothing that I know of that a human could do for me. I can probably stay in control the whole time. It seems so much harder this time though." She frowned at the food on her fork. "I'm not sure why."

A pair of arms slid around her from behind and the person nuzzled into her neck nosing right below her ear. "It is because you have three Alphas in close proximity to you." Genesis mumbled into her ear. She gasped and shivered as a jolt of warmth and pleasure radiated from a brush of teeth on her skin.

"None of that now. Off of her." Ignis said brandishing his spatula. He raised an eyebrow at the male shifter's expression but slipped off of her and into the next seat.

Taking a deep breath she shook herself out of the unexpected fog and glared at the shifter next to her. "Do that again and I sic Ignis on you. He won't be as nice as I would be."

To her surprise he stood up and bowed, deep and formal to her. "My apologies, My Lady. You smelled too good this morning with my scent mingled with yours. I will do better and control myself from now on." He straightened up and looked her directly in the eyes. He seemed sincere to her. "May I?" He motioned to the seat he had just vacated.

She nodded and he sat back down. "Don't play on my glands like that. This is hard enough to not lose myself." She said quietly, as she turned back to her food.

"I understand. I am sorry, Lilliana. It won't happen again." She didn't realize to what extent her scent had changed right after that exchange and how uneasy the Alpha felt smelling a distressed Omega, in heat no less, right next to him. And he had caused it. He had to make it better somehow. He wanted 'his' Omega happy. If suppressing every instinct he had to claim her as his was the answer, then he would do it. For the remainder of the day he tried everything he could to make her smile at every opportunity.

Every one of the shifters were acting strangely after they got up and entered into the main living areas. They kept giving her furtive glances and a few conferred with Genesis in angry hisses. It got to the point where she just flat out hid in Noct's room. She had no idea why they were acting so strange around her.

Justice found her in there, hiding under Noct's covers a bit later. "You really are like a new Omega aren't you? Alright, first you haven't done anything wrong. What happened was your scent changed from 'In Heat' to 'Distressed Omega' and it's thrown everyone off their game. You've never let your Omega out so you don't know how strong scent affects the Alphas. Omegas in heat are supposed to be happy and sensual, not scared and distressed. Since Genesis caused the scent change, he's freaking out trying to make up for it. The others are trying to figure out why your scent changed and have been confronting him about it. He won't say anything, only that he messed up, and that's making them more angsty. Want to talk about it?" At her sullen expression he rolled his eyes, "Let me rephrase. We are going to talk about this. No buts. In this I'm Alpha. Now talk." She glared at him but started talking and explained what had happened that morning. "Ok, this is actually easily fixable. You just need to let him scent mark you. Hear me out! He thinks you rejected him, that he's the cause for your distress. It's not him though, it's you not understanding yourself and your reactions, right? If you let him scent mark you, then he will stop freaking out, your Omega will calm down, and everyone can start relaxing. As much as a bunch of Alphas can with an 'In Heat' Omega around."

"You sure that'll work? I've never done, well, any of it. I don't even know how." she trailed off turning red and burying herself deeper into the covers.

"Hey." He pulled the covers up to peek at her. "Let your instincts lead you for this. You don't have to do anything but your Omega knows what it wants and how to get it." He smiled at her and held out his hand. He drew her out slowly and led her into the other room.

"Alright. Shifters get your butts over here. We need to have a meeting." Justice called out as soon as they reached open floor. He looked over each of them as they approached gauging where to start and pointed sternly at Destiny. "First. You need to pick a side and stay on it. You're gonna mess her up further if you don't. Yes I know what you are, don't look so stunned. I lived in a true nest unlike all of you. Next. Mara. You and Genesis either need to cut it out or fight it out. This Alpha dance is driving me insane. You know her choice already from the other day so either drop it or fight for her. Finally. Genesis. Come over here."

The shifters looked at him funny as he barked out the orders to each of them. Even Lilly was taken aback a bit by the change in his demeanor from the shy guy they've come to know. "Do not test me guys or I will show you how an angry Omega actually rules the nest. Genesis come here, now. Give me your wrist." He grabbed the shorter man's wrist as he approached and looked distastefully at it. He mumbled "Out of season Alpha" to himself and then bit down firmly on the softer underside of it.

If Genesis were a flower, pollen would be puffed out of him in a cloud. As it was, mating scent wafted off the man in waves. Instead of a cry of pain and a reflex of pulling his arm away from his attacker, he let out a startled gasp and his knees weakened to the point Justice had to hold him up for support. Justice let go of his bite and held the wrist out to Lilly. "Rub his wrist on your neck. Your glands specifically. It'll make you and them feel better." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Just do it. He's not hurt just aroused."

She had covered her nose as soon as she had smelled the pheromones from the other shifter. They smelled too good and she just wanted to drown in them, but she also wanted to keep her head. She warred with her Omega until Justice beckoned her forward. She snuck closer and rubbed Gen's wrist on her neck. Her Omega side calmed down right away, purring happily, and her stance relaxed, all unease gone. After a few more seconds Justice hefted Genesis over his shoulder and walked away from Lilly, the man protesting the whole time. "You want more? Follow me."

The other shifters, and humans in the other room, watched the exchange in mild surprise and horror that their tall, shy, timid, shifter could take charge like that without the Alpha able to protest successfully at all. Lilly just wanted to follow the scent and the Alpha it was coming from.

Justice led the way to the door of Lilly's nest and stopped. "Genesis stop squirming or I'll have to do something about it. Yes, she wants you, stop arguing with me. Fine, Lilliana, will you allow me to deposit Genesis in your nest so you can scent mark him?" He turned to the Omega female following him, looking slightly dazed. He snapped his fingers once in front of her face and the dazed look disappeared. "Lilliana. Will you allow me to deposit Genesis in your nest so you can willingly scent mark him?" He repeated to her "You say no and I'll not enter or force him near you. You lead in this."

"I." She started and stumbled on her words. The encouraging look she received helped immensely and she cleared her throat. More steady than she had felt in the last few days she said "Yes. I will allow this." She stepped into the room first and stood to the side. Justice carried Genesis into the middle of the room and set him down on his feet. He whispered something to the other shifter she couldn't catch and left the room, closing the door behind him.


	2. Overkill? I think Not.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heats are rough, but Lilly has Regis and Clarus to check up on her and make sure everything went smoothly.

Heats were a witch. She had forgotten how much one took out of her. Could've been worse though. Usually she didn't have an Alpha partner and an actual nest to hide in during it. This time, though, she had three Alphas and an Omega to help her through it. She didn't even have to pretend to not be an Omega. It was such a new and different experience this time around.

As it was, she just wanted to snuggle up to her Alpha and sleep for the next week. The call of food was too strong to compete with though, so she stumbled blearily out of Genesis' room, and her nest, to go and find sustenance. The other shifter was as worn out as she felt trying to keep up with the 'new' Omega and was passed out dead to the world, recovering.

She made it all the way into the refrigerator before it registered that there were other people in the same room with her. Peeking cautiously around the open door, she came face to face with two sets of eyes watching her with barely contained myrth. That she made some undignified squeak of surprise would forever be nothing more than a rumor that she denied every time.

"Your Majesty. Sir Clarus. What are you doing here? I can go find Noct if you need him. He's probably just sleeping." She closed the door and started moving away towards the human's hallway when a raised hand forestalled her.

"That won't be necessary Lilliana. We aren't here for my son." The King said with a kind smile. "We are here to see you, my dear."

Seeing the confusion on her face, Clarus interjected. "You haven't been to training in two weeks. We were just making sure everything is alright with you and the new shifters."

 _Hadn't been to training?_ Her face slowly turned a deep shade of red as she realized why she hadn't been to training. She bowed low to cover her embarrassment "I'm sorry Sir's. I completely forgot to inform you as to my absence. It was so sudden I didn't even think."

She stopped her explanation at the mention of her name from the King. "Lilly. It's alright. We know why you were absent. You aren't the first pet to be in the Citadel and you certainly won't be the last. We just wanted to check up on you. We know heats can be a little hard on some shifters and sometimes, things happen that are regretted later."

"Are there any heads that need to be removed from the remainder of their bodies is what Regis is asking, dear." Clarus asked bluntly.

"Sirs! What? No! No one needs to remove anything." She stood up straight, waving her hands in a desperate attempt to stop their train of thought. At their obvious laughter, she dropped her hands and sighed. Chuckling to herself she sat down at the table with them and gave them a genuine smile. "No. It's actually been a good heat this time. They all have been so helpful and supportive. When I told them No, they listened. Justice has been the best too. I know we had a rocky start, but he has taught me so much these past few weeks about letting my Omega take over. I can't even begin to thank him."

Genesis came out of the bedroom yawning and looking for Lilly. He had woken up alone and was mildly panicking that his Omega was gone. He followed her scent to the kitchen and he finally relaxed when he saw her happy and smiling. He had eyes only for his Omega and didn't notice the two humans sitting with her until he was draped over her shoulders asking why she had left and to come back to bed.

She swatted at his arms curled around her and shook her head to clear the momentary fog of contentment his scent put her in. "Gen. Morning. Have you met Noct's and Gladio's fathers? His Majesty Regis Lucius Caelum and his Shield, Clarus Amicitia." She hid a smile of amusement when she felt him stiffen in surprise. "Finally noticed them?" She teased, giving his cheek a nuzzle.

Glancing back at the King and Shield, she saw them looking at the male shifter seriously.

"So you say this one is a match for your son? I don't see how. He looks pretty weak to me." The King said appraisingly to his Shield.

"Gladio is still learning, but yes, he doesn't look like he would be able to protect himself, let alone his mate. We might have to find someone else for her." Clarus said just as seriously.

She felt Genesis still and felt more than heard a low growl start from him. The arms around her tightened and pricks of claws dug into her arms. Looking down she saw his hands were half turned and glancing up she saw his eyes narrowed at the two humans.

She squirmed to get out of his hold but he refused to loosen his grip on her, so she did the only logical thing she could think of. She bit him. "Hey. They're just messing with you Gen. Don't do anything you'll regret later."

His glare changed directions down to her for a moment before it was blinked away. His eyes widened in mild panic as he realized he was about to attack the King over threatening to take away his Omega.

Before he could start saying anything she bumped his head lightly with her own. She glared at the two humans who were looking only mildly sheepish.

"We needed to make sure our Lilliana was being taken care of sufficiently. Your reactions, and hers, have told us that she has been. If she had reacted negatively to you or our talk then we would've taken measures to rectify this. As is, she is happy with you and where she is." The King said to Genesis.

"Mark my words though, if any of you step out of line and hurt her or any of our family, you won't see the end of the day. Am I clear?" Clarus said in the most menacing tone she had ever heard from him.

Genesis, who hadn't let go of her in the least, met both sets of eyes staring daggers into him. He bowed his head in acknowledgement and said in just as serious a tone. "She is my Omega. I protect what is mine and will never hurt her or allow her to get hurt in any way. She is my jewel and flower and I will not allow any to make her fade or wilt. She is mine and I am hers as long as she will allow it."

He looked down at her and grinned, more like the usual self she had gotten to know. "I'd give her a mating mark but I'm pretty sure she'd kill me if I tried." All the men laughed as Gen dodged a punch in his direction.

She was so red even a lobster would be jealous of her color. How can he be so casual about saying that? For one thing it's super sappy and second that was a version of a mate declaration an Alpha said to the Omega's parent or guardian! She had heard about it in stories that some of the inventory shifters told the younger kits to keep their spirits up, but never thought she'd hear it spoken outside of a story. And especially not about her.

She was distracted by her thoughts just enough that Genesis caught her wrist and pulled her to his chest, wrapping his free arm around her. He leaned down and put his forehead to hers and whispered "I say so willingly and truthfully. I would love if you would be mine. You are special and I felt it instantly even when I thought you were an Alpha. I know it is sudden and I will not push for an answer. Take your time."

He pulled back and smiled "I need time to ask your other important people if they'll agree to this as well."

"Yeeeeeah. No. Not gonna happen." A long drawn out answer appeared out of thin air at the same time as the Prince. "You're going to have to earn that one." He said as he grabbed Lilly from Genesis's arms and disappeared with her in a shower of sparks.

They reappeared a moment later in the living room and Noct pulled her down with him onto the couch. Prompto joined then, hemming her in closely on both sides. "We may not be Shifters, but she's our Lilly. We won't give approval easily" Prom called over to the stunned shifter.

"Some of us have higher standards than others, though. You'll have to pass all our requirements." The smooth accent of Ignis came from behind Genesis. He was leaning on the kitchen counter idly testing the sharpness of his daggers. Gladio was leaning next to him giving Genesis the full weight of the Amicitia glare. No one had heard them slip into the kitchen and the King and Shield hadn't given away that the boys had appeared.

"I see her guardians have spoken. We aren't needed here anymore it seems, Clarus." Regis said amusement evident in his voice.

"It seems so Regis. She's in good hands." Clarus smirked back and they both rose, saying their goodbyes, and departed from the Prince's suite.

Lilly, for her part, kept a quiet amused eye on the entire exchange. She hadn't seen this much posturing by the guys since the last time that one Princess was getting too grabby with her Master at that one party. Her Omega was purring that she had such strong males around her to protect her, while her normal feelings were on the edge of incredulity at the entire situation. She could take care of herself, but she had to admit, being protected like this was kind of nice. Even if it was over the top.

She decided she would tell Genesis her answer later, after she had thought about it for a while. For now though, she snuggled deeper into the warmth of the humans around her, happy and content. Her Alphas may not be shifters, but they protected her all the same and she loved each and every one of them.


	3. Prey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been years since she had felt like this. Like the hunted instead of the hunter.

It had been years since she had felt like this. Like the hunted instead of the hunter.

She wasn't sure when the change happened. One day they were watching her as subordinates. Watching and learning how to survive in their new human world. The next, they followed her every move, with every sense. She was acutely aware of their eyes finding her each time she walked into the room. The exact instant they became aware of her presence, their full attention centered upon her.

She didn't know what to make of it. She didn't like it. The feeling of being watched. Of being slowly hunted. She felt like the Omega her biology described. She didn't like it, but it gave her a hint about what was happening.

She watched as they inched closer to her each time they saw her. Getting closer and hedging into her space. Invading her comfort zone. She wasn't sure if they were even aware they were doing it. Each time she retreated, they would follow. Not even her humans could stop them.

She retreated once and her wrist was grabbed, getting pulled back into the waiting arms of Destiny. A low growl emanated from the female, telling her to not run. To not flee. Her arms were clawed for her troubles of trying to keep an unwilling Omega.

Mara stayed on the edges of her vision at all time. Waiting for any opening from the others, and not finding any. He rarely approached, but never retreated. He was Alpha, but not The Alpha. He would wait his turn.

Genesis hunted her slowly. Following and inching closer. He was not foolish enough to touch her though, not after watching Destiny fail. His Omega wasn't a weak one and he didn't try to make her submit. He followed her and approached when she was calm, when she was relaxed. He waited for her to invite him into her space, even if it was with the humans around.

The humans were confused at what was happening. They had never seen a rut and had never needed the knowledge before. A few words from Lilly and they stayed out of it, even as they watched uncomfortably, wanting to help but unable.

She knew what it was after Destiny tried to make her submit. All three Alphas were going into rut at the same time. She was their targeted Omega. Justice should've been a target for at least one of them, but the human scent upon him from Ignis kept them at bay. She was unclaimed in their eyes, so she was the prize.

This wouldn't do at all. She was no Omega to be claimed.

On the farm she could just lock them up for the duration of their ruts. Here, there were no locked doors that she could control. She would have to prove that she was not the prize they were looking for, even if the humans didn't agree with her methods.

Mara she wouldn't worry about much. He would stay away. It was Genesis and Destiny that she needed to best.

A few well timed growls and bites of retaliation were all she needed to do to get her point across to Destiny. Lilly would not submit to anyone in full rut by force.

Genesis was harder to deter. He never tried forcing her but he never went away either. He complimented, watched, reacted, and did little things as if to prove he would be a good Alpha to her Omega. He would pull things down from up high, pick up and remove heavy things from her arms, open doors, etc. She started wondering if this is what the female nobles felt when he turned on the charm. He never quite took her "Leave me alone" at face value and stuck around.

Finally she had enough. She had been followed one too many times through a doorway for her liking. She grabbed each of them as they walked through the door and threw them into the pool. While they were all sputtering and finally paying attention to her fully, she dressed them down and told them if they came near her while they were still in rut, no matter if their Master's ordered it or not, she would remove every offending appendage. They finally got the message. They stayed at least a room away, pacing at times, but not going near until their hormonal heads had completely cleared.

All three apologized after and promised to try harder the next time to not be stereotypical Alphas.

She was not prey and never would be. She would always make sure of that.

**Author's Note:**

> There will be more to this but any NSFW will be put down as it's own little thing as I don't want the main storyline to go further than Teen+Up


End file.
